SEAL statement 08 November
‘I can be a good friend’ is the SEAL statement for this week.
Following our SEAL assembly last week, there have been plenty of friendship tokens given out by children and staff alike.
How do you think you can be a good friend?
Are you a pushy parent?
A recent article published on the BBC website suggests being a pushy parent is not such a bad thing.
Recent research suggests that parents who push their children to work hard at school have a big impact on their child’s academic success. The effort a parent puts into ensuring their child buckles down to schoolwork has a greater impact than that put in by the child or the school, according to researchers at Leicester and Leeds universities. Amongst the aspects the researchers considered were how much time parents read to a child and how often they attended school meetings.
Most parents / carers tell me they’d like to support their child more, but don’t know where to start.
Well, a good starting point is our own website – go to the blue section (‘Learn More’) and look at the National Expectations section which outlines standards and in bold, there are practical ideas.
You can also use the BBC website – it has some great activities and advice to support you and your child to learn more. (I like Digger and the Gang to support maths – Nash, Flick and Sprat will help your child get their numerical skills on track!)
And most importantly, get involved in hearing your child read (ideally on a daily basis, even if just for five minutes), and help them to learn their times tables and spellings – check out our homework information including the Parents and Carers Guide which you can download.
SEAL statement 1 November
This half term our SEAL theme is all about Getting On and our first statement is ‘I can work co-operatively to help a group.’
The SEAL theme Getting On focusses on four main aspects:
- developing the social skills of friendship
- working well together in a group
- managing anger
- resolving conflict
Group work takes place across all lessons and even at lunchtime and playtimes. Some questions for children to consider are:
- Did everyone take turns?
- Did everyone listen to what other people thought?
- Did each person have chance to tell the group what they thought?
- If people had different ideas could the group reach a compromise?
SEAL statement 18 October
The last statement as part of our New Beginnings SEAL theme is ‘I can make my class a good place to learn.’
Class contracts and routines are fully in place now so staff will be looking out for children who make good choices to enable their class to have a positive learning environment.
Healthy packed lunches
We have been using the Eat Well Plate to see if our packed lunches are balanced. Here is an example with the correct proportions of food in each food group.
SEAL statement 11 October
‘I can do something brave’ is the new SEAL statement for this week. This could be anything from having a go answering a difficult question in maths to joining a new after school club.
Health Week feedback
Thank you to all parents and carers who have made such positive comments about our recent Health Week.
Our Health group (pupils) met this week with some great examples of how Health Week has enabled them to make even healthier choices. Some of the comments from the meeting include:
- “I’ll eat more fruit now.” Bailey, Year 1
- “I’ll keep doing more exercise at home.” Zakir, Year 2
- “I will try to do more sport and exercise at home rather than watching the TV.” Arjun, Year 3
- “I am going to ride my bike more at home.” Amit, Year 3
- “I’ve asked my mum if we can get a blender to make our own smoothies at home.” Bethany, Year 3
- “After using the trampolines at Allerton Grange I am going to use my own more at home.” Connor, Year 4
- “I eat more fruit now including mango which I hadn’t tried before.” Connor, Year 4
- “I enjoy Family Fridays where I spend more time with my family doing exercise.” Ebony, Year 4
- “I am going to cut down the number of unhealthy snacks I have.” Ajay, Year 5
Following the introduction of our Packed Lunch Guidance, a number of children are already trying ways to make their lunch healthier:
- “My mum has suggested that I only bring crisps on Mondays as a treat, instead of every day, and I am going to try this.” Amit, Year 3
- “Following the Health Group meeting for parents, about packed lunches, I now send a chocolate biscuit once a week rather than every day and my children see it more like a treat.” Parent
- “I’ve stopped bringing a Fruit Shoot with my packed lunch as I have the water on the table instead.” Husna, Year 4
We would love to hear more Health Week feedback.
SEAL statement 4 October
This week some children will receive a certificate if they show evidence of our weekly statement, ‘I can solve a problem.’
Problem solving is something we do lots of in maths but how might you solve a problem at playtime, lunchtime or maybe at home?
Through our SEAL work in the Getting On theme, next half term, we shall be looking more closely at how to use the Peaceful Problem Solving technique.
Stranger Danger
Today, children in Year 1 – Year 6 in our school have had a brief reminder of the importance of being aware of ‘stranger danger‘. For example:
- not getting into a stranger’s car
- making sure they go home with the right person
- not encouraging chat with strangers
We encourage you to talk to your child about this as well.
There has been a number of incidents in Leeds schools this term so far.
We want all our children and parents / carers to be safe, happy and healthy learners.
SEAL statement 27 September
As part of the SEAL theme of New Beginnings our SEAL statement for this week is, ‘I know how others might feel when they are in a new situation.’
As the children are settling into their new classes and routines it is chance for them to empathise with others who may find it difficult to cope with a new situation.